Kentwell Hall

If you have ever thought " I have been here before", then perhaps you should go to Kentwell Hall.

It's a 500 year old house in Long Melford Suffolk, that we have visited many times before, and is only a one hour drive from home
So that's what we did today (Saturday) as it was Tudor recreation time, with a 200 strong cast of all ages, dressed and acting tudor times.

Kentwell hall also does other "time themes" as it has a long long history.

But back to today, it was a shame after such tremendous weather, that today was very cloudy and cool, we even encountered some rain on the drive there. But don't let the weather put you off,  you will have a great day what ever the weather.

We have taken all of our grandchildren at some stage to Kentwell, as its  a real "living history" event for them, and they can learn so much, whilst having so much fun.

The "cast" are always willing to engage with you, give you some history, and explain their role, all the time keeping in character.

Today Sue had a long chat with an Alchemist apprentice, and very knowledgeable he was too for such a young person.

If you want to view some more photos I took today, you can find them here 

So go on, treat yourself to a slice of history 

A Weekend with Lucy

No, I have not left my good lady for another women, although Lucy did steal my heart 8 years ago along with all of our other grandchildren:-) when she entered our lives.

Lucy, is our eldest granddaughter, and came to stay with us for the weekend

Its been a while since we have had any of the grandchildren to stay, since my unexpected holiday last year at Colchester general. However, Saturday morning we took the short drive to Colchester to pick her up, and off we all went to Colchester Zoo. We had to dodge a few showers, but the Zoo was not too busy, so we all had a great time.

I must just mention that whilst walking in the Zoo, a mother and child walked past us in the opposite direction, now I'm not to sure what the conversation was about as I only caught the last sentence from the mother, which went along the lines of "Yes, like daddy's mum, but with less mental health issues".

The mind boggles.

So after we left the Zoo, we did partake of a little retail therapy for Lucy and took her clothes shopping, and she may be only 8, but she knows how to shop like a woman for clothes.

So Sunday arrived, bright and sunny, so after some craft time with Nanny in the morning, she then took Lucy over the local park. I did warn of the torrential rain we have had, and the likely state of the field, but was I listened to ? what me a mortal man, not a chance.

On their return I did hose them down at the door to try to get some of the mud off.

Now what to do this afternoon ? Now Lucy is already a well traveled Lady, having been to Florida, and has took her first cruise out there. She has  also been a regular theatre attendee.But, She has not yet been to the cinema. So we took a short visit across the county border to Ipswich where we saw The Lego Movie, which we all enjoyed.

And so the weekend draws to a close and tomorrow afternoon we must return Lucy home having enjoyed her company all weekend.

Thank you Lucy, from Nanny & Pops xxxx

Am I a Stalker ?

Well, I was not going to write another blog, but today, was "eventful" so here I am.

Today was the last day of "my" weekend (the joys of shift work), and unusually Sue was also on annual leave, so what to do ?

Well Sue decided she wanted a new coat, so off we went this morning to Colchester. Well after a morning around the shops, Sue still had not found anything she liked.

Now I'm not saying Sue is picky, but she does know what she likes, and will not settle for second best, which is probably why she married me :-).

So, after that failure, we decided to drive another 30 minutes to Freeport Braintree, to look for the forsaid coat.

As we left Colchester, I said to Sue " I really do need to spend a penny when we get to Freeport"

As it was lunch time when we arrived, so we decided to eat in a well known Pizza restaurant on site. We were shown to our table, and I said to Sue " I must spend that penny now" so off I went in search of the toilet.

Now here is a WARNING to all men out there, if you are in a hurry, not all signs that have two legs are the Mens toilet.

 I wont go into to details, other than to say I'm very glad the toilet was empty.

So we are sitting eating when in walks Michael J Fitch and his wife. Now I know Michael, as I booked him for Sue's 60th birthday bash a few years ago.

 And excellent he was too, and I would highly recommend him.

I'm sure by now, that you know that I am a big fan of most social media, with Twitter being one of them, and as such, "follow" of Michael on Twitter.

So, I sent him a tweet saying "The Pizza in here is very good".

Well the look on his face as he read the tweet on his phone, and scanned the restaurant for who had sent it, was as the advert says, "Priceless", but I did own up in the end.

So then after lunch our quest began again to find Sue a new coat, which I am pleased to report was a success, along with few new tops just for good measure.

And so my weekend is complete and its back to work tomorrow, and on full shifts (I have been a bit poorly of late).

Could I have crammed any more into my weekend ? NO !!!